Subtle and Steady Wins the Race by Katherine Higgins
Seven year old
been a long time… A long time, and a good time.”
Katherine Higgins bounced up and down in the backseat of her mother’s white ford focus, for once not minding the NPR show that hadn’t yet grown into her affections like horses had. Dust billowed out behind the car as they rolled to a stop in front of a wooden lesson office, yellow paint faded from years in the sun. Christmas lights twinkled from the rafters of the porch, though it was only July. “You must be Katherine! I’m Marie, and I’ll be your instructor unless you decide you don’t like me and want to ride with someone else.” The woman standing in front of Katherine and her mother was short, but not too short, with at least a dozen piercings in each ear, and a smile whiter than a movie star’s. “You’re not old and grumpy! How can you be a teacher?” Katherine was baffled, her mother embarrassed, but Marie just laughed and brought Katherine over to the first horse she’d ride at Webb Ranch. Nine years later, Marie recounted the story with the same bright smile, “Yea you and your brother were some of my first students right after I turned 18 that spring. It’s
Marie started riding at Webb when she was just 9 years old, and started teaching the day after she turned 18, which is “when the insurance kicks in and starts to cover you”. She had always loved horses, but never imagined it as a full out career. Teaching people to ride has seen Marie through college, the acquisition of three dogs, moving to Santa Cruz, even an elopement, but she’s still not really sure what kept her coming back.
As a 9 year old, Marie
wasn’t super confident. Her family supported her riding, but made it clear that it shouldn’t be her only career choice. However, Marie still wanted to be a good rider, and started riding with Megan because she had heard good things about her students and how they performed at competitions. When she got to her first lesson, though, Marie felt intimidated and shy. She rapidly went through three instructors before she started riding with Summer, who owns the lesson program at Webb. She remembers “almost 1
immediately” feeling like she was a stronger rider, and decided to lease a horse from Webb. Now, at age 26, she can only describe why she decided on Summer as a “gut feeling. She just felt natural to ride with.” She and Summer still work, compete, and travel together - lifetime friends who began as mentor and student.
Most teachers work
with the same students for a year, maybe two or three. As much as they might try, their impact on a student will be very limited. The benefits of working with each student for indefinite amounts of time starting at any age - on their learning and their character are almost unimaginable. Sabba Jalalian also rode with several instructors before settling in, but she decided on Marie. The only real difference she could point out between Marie and the other instructors was that, “she seemed really down to earth, really easy to talk to”. When asked what makes a good teacher, students in Madison, Connecticut all agreed on a few similar things: patience, encouragement, kindness. Students learn better when they like who they are learning from and the
environment they are learning in. That’s part of why Marie’s students keep coming back.
Sabba also pointed
out another fascination she’s had with Marie. She’s “never seen Marie upset, even if [she] messed up a course or did something really stupid. She’s always happy, always there for her students”. Though Marie did not identify this in herself, she did describe similar traits in her dog Kaya. While she loves her oldest dog the most “just because he’s the oldest,” she said Kaya is “the reason people have dogs”. Kaya is always happy to see people, always excited to go on a new adventure, Marie’s “never seen her grumpy”. Consistency is a very important character trait in dogs to Marie, and research shows that it’s an important trait in teachers as well. Consistency is routinely cited as an important aspect in a child’s development. From bedtimes to chore assignments, the more consistent a routine, parent or authority figure is, the more secure and confident the kid will be. When you translate this idea into the world of education, it’s easy to see that the instructor who is always supportive will be more effective 2
than the instructor who showers you with praise one week only to cut you down the next. Marie is honest - sometimes brutally so - but her students know it always comes from a good place in her heart, something that cannot be said for other Webb instructors. Show days are, of course, some of the most stressful days in a rider’s career. At Webb Schooling Shows, pressure from some instructors is high. Joan stomps into the show ring to speak with her teary eyed student on a horse who’s just refused yet another jump, grabbing the reins to lead the team back towards their course. Dusty cars fill the dirt parking lot near the lesson office. Tall redwoods divide wide pathways into more narrow trails between arenas and fields, and the
announcer’s booth could be mistaken for a backyard patio structure. Amidst navy blazers and cream breeches of competitors being yelled to by their instructors, Marie’s bright coral t-shirt, outshining everything but her smile, is a lighthouse of calm guiding her students to success as she bends over to smooch a student’s previously naughty horse on the nose.
Marie likes “to be cheerful and keep things happy”. That approach to teaching - the personable, encouraging approach is what allows Marie’s students to grow not only in skill but in character. “People appreciate that, especially if they’re going through a stressful time in their life” (Roussel). Marie provides a safe
environment her students can turn to when life gets tough, an important stability for me when I struggled with body image and weight issues. Whether the stress in a student’s life originates from a show day or something more serious, Marie is more than happy to listen and provide support. Despite getting home to her Santa Cruz studio in the wee hours of the morning, Marie made it to Portola Valley by 7am with open arms and a bright attitude in order to coach her students from ringside for the full 12
hours of the show.
According to Sabba Jalalian, “Marie actually talks to [her students], she gets to know us, it’s not just an hour lesson of all horse stuff and then it’s over. It’s therapy and then it’s horseback riding”. When Sabba was starting high school, she got really stressed out, worrying that she wouldn’t fit in well enough at her small, private school. “[Sabba] went to Marie, and her advice was to have a go-to saying for uncomfortable situations” Giving yourself a social escape plan is essential, and even grown women can glean knowledge from Marie’s stories and catchphrases. One of Marie’s older students, Carolynn, never cantered her horse because she was afraid to fall and injure herself - several of her younger horseoriented friends have long since stopped riding. To overcome that fear, Marie used diversionary tactics like games and lunge line lessons to give Carolynn the feeling of a safety net and build confidence. One of Carolynn’s new favorite sayings for when her friends get snarky is, “you do you, and I’ll do me” - something just about everyone at Webb has heard from Marie. Marie is much more than a riding instructor, she’s a life instructor. 3
“I wouldn’t say I’m the best...
She learned to be honest, kind, and above all consistent. She even admits that her husband is “very different from [her] in that he gets really amped up and then very very calm. Where [she’s] controlled and even, he has spikes”.
When confronted
with the idea that she is Webb’s Kaya, all Marie had to say on the subject was, “I wouldn’t say I’m the best.. People just have different teaching styles.”
As for what comes next, Marie isn’t really sure where she wants to go or what she wants to do. She’s been affiliated with Webb Ranch for the past decade and a half, and he next decade and a half is up for grabs. In her words, “You do you and I’ll do me”.
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... People just have different teaching styles” Marie